A state visit, closed.(Romberg)

[Romberg]

The Kaiser then led them to a waiting jeep, which took them to an area further away from the helicopter. There, a temporary stand has been set up so that they could watch the planned military parade which was laid out for them.

"We are proud of our defensive capabilities, and the professionalism of the Imperial Armed Forces" the Kaiser remarked.

Now, for the first part of the military parade, a Rombergian C-10 transport aircraft flew overhead, flanked by ZF-2 fighters, and then around fifty paratroopers jumped out of the transport aircraft, forming a star shape in mid air before setting off green flares and descending onto the ground, leaving bright green trails of smoke.

[Krjder]

"Impressive, you tend to base your parade on modern strength"

[Romberg]

"This is a summarized version of our annual Victory Day parade, which commemorates the restoration our independence in 1978. And in continuation of Soviet and Russian tradition, it is held every year, showcasing the best and most advanced equipment used by the Imperial Armed Forces. We're of course proud of our past, but the stress of our military now is to stay in the present and look towards the future. Our historical re-enactments usually happen on the actual day of the major battles that Romberg has been in though."

On the field, the Air Component of the Imperial Armed Forces followed up the paratrooper performance with an impressive aerobatics display, using standard ZF-2 fighters and ZF-12 multirole fighters.

[Krjder]

"You were taken over by the Soviets? Krjder pushed the Soviets back to Ukraine."

[Romberg]

"It's a long story. You see, after the Great Depression, the Rombergian government began to weaken. This spelled the beginning of the end of the Second Principality. And that led to Romberg's involvement in the Second World War. We had it worse than Poland. Like them, in 1939, we were divided up by the Nazis and the Soviets, at the Ålberg range with respect to the Molotov-Ribbentropp pact. But unlike Poland, we were never fully occupied by either one side, being a divided nation throughout the war under two oppressive regimes. And then, in 1945, with defeat imminent in Berlin, Hitler ordered Dönitz to create a distraction, while himself and other chiefs of staff retreated to Southern Romberg, the last stronghold of the Third Reich. Yet it was successful and everyone thought they were dead. Only they weren't. Indeed, the South, with the capital at Königsberg in memory of their prized city in East Prussia, was then the new seat of the Nazi government, while Germany sought to rebuild itself. Meanwhile, the international community paid little attention to us, since we were just so North and so remote from everyone else.

But of course we wouldn't remain as an occupied power, whether by the remnant Nazis or the Soviets, who by now transformed the North into an SSR, and the ancient city of Vyborg a formidable fortress. There was always significant insurgent and resistance activity, and these banded under the Imperial Resistance Front. In 1948, a general uprising began in many cities, organized by the IRF. And the first years were difficult, with any person remotely related to the IRF violently purged by either side. Yet slowly but surely, the IRF made gains. In a few years, they had forced the Soviets from Vyborg, transforming it into the centre of the Rombergian resistance, a position which has never been lost during the war.

And to the South, IRF forces made regular raids, striking fear into the Nazi leadership. In the centre though, all three sides wrestled control over the valuable Jarlsberg pass which connected the North and the South, a valuable chokepoint and throughpoint for trade. It was disastrous, especially for the IRF. But still they fought on. And eventually, they had the upper hand.

The South was liberated in 1975 following a series of street battles in Königsberg, culminating in the execution of Hitler in the Grandpalatz grounds where he had set up his headquarters. As for the North, we also forced the Soviets to sign a peace treaty ending their control there in 1978, since they would have to focus on Afghanistan anyway. And that is why till this day, March 15th is considered our national day. It reminds us of the day in 1978 when our nation was finally liberated to form the Third Principality. Over several million had died by then, but for our nation, it was a worthy cause."

[Krjder]

"Krjder fought with the allies against the Japanese. Towards the end of the war, our old friend Bengaria was overthrown by a fascist coup under General Markò Láczákű. We intervened again. The soviets tried to attack Krjder via Yopfu but we went on the offensive and sent them home."

[Romberg]

"I guess it shows how we have a common history in defeating invaders from both sides of the dictatorship spectrum then." the Kaiser remarked, rather surprised to see such an intriguing parallel between the nations.

And then, the strategic forces of Romberg were shown, with Topol-M and Iskander missile launchers leading the way in formation, followed by IA&A self-propelled howitzers and IA&A multiple rocket launchers. Tanks followed, with a column of mixed IFVs and APCs trailing behind. To round off the mechanized parade, air defense systems including the Pantsir-S1 and the S-400 were also in line, right behind. An infantry demonstration would follow afterwards.

[Krjder]

"You concentrate heavily on modern equiptment rather than colourful uniformed men horse back."

[Romberg]

"Yes. We have all but abolished our cavalry and most of our ceremonial units. All that's left is our honour guard, but even they are drawn from active soldiers and continuously rotated back into active military duty. Our military is very practical and stresses on combat readiness. We don't generally use our resources to celebrate past triumphs in military parades using restore equipment or re-enactments. Instead, we use this opportunity to show our strength and instill pride in our citizens. But I understand it is a different situation in your nation, am I right?"

[Krjder]

"Yes it is. All troops have combat uniform and dress uniform. All units in our military serve:
Infantry now contains:
Life Guards of Foot (the emperor's and Ducal guards)
Life Guard Grenadiers (the Grenadier Guard Company)
Grenadiers (serve mostly as heavy and semi elite troops. Also carry specialised weapons like fla,e throwers and rocket launchers)
Skirmishers (infantry with long range. Deployed as snipers)
Line infantry (regular infantry)

Cavalry regiments are mostly armoured vehicle sections but still parade on horse back and wear cavalry uniform.
Life Guards of Horse (the Emperor's and Ducal guards)
Currasiers (heavy cavalry with breastplates. Now deployed as heavy tank and armoured vehicle sections)
Lancers (lighter cavalry with lances, deployed as light vehicle sections)
Hussars (light cavalry, deployed as light vehicle sections)
Akkinschij Acįnšií (light cavalry who shot rifles from a horse. Deployed now as light vehicle sections)
Mounted Skirmishers (a more regular version of the Akkinschij. Deployed as mobile troops)
Dragoons (regular mounted troopers. Deployed as medium tank and vehicle sections)

Artillery
10 firepower gun
50 firepower gun
100 firepower gun
400 firepower gun
Horse artillery (now mobile artillery)

Navy:
Marines (do not have elite status. Are seen only as troops to defend ships or for amphibious landings)

[Romberg]

"Our standard military armies and the 2nd and 3rd Shock Armies have a similar organization, and our 1st Guards Army is essentially all special forces or elite troops, so saying their organization would take some time. However, our 10th Expeditionary Forces "The Legion" would have the following organization, and it is a mixed-arms combined army:

Land

- Central Command (coordinates everything, also intelligence)
- Guards (protect Central Command)
- Logistics (Loading equipment, materiel)
- Supplies (Coordinates food, accomodation, ammunition etc.)
- Dedicated Communications (between Central Command and front line units)
- Combat Engineers(Sappers) (scouts, used as a frontal unit to puncture enemy positions. Also large-scale combat engineering.)
- Motor Rifle Divisions (Dismounted IFVs/APCs, standard infantry units. Includes CQB and sniper teams in each sub-unit.)
- Panzer Divisions (tanks)
- Gebirgsjåger (dedicated mountain troops)
- Ski Troops (for winter and ice fighting)
- Armoured Artillery (Combined self-propelled artillery/multiple rocket launcher)
- Air Defense (SPAAGs and SAM systems)
- Strategic Rocket Forces (missiles and ICBMs)

Sea
- Standard naval divisions (based on boats, combined role)
- Marines
- Search and Rescue

Air
- Fighter divisions (fighters)
- Bomber divisions (bombers)
- Strike divisions (fighter-bombers/multirole fighters)
- Ground support divisions (attack helicopters/ ground attack aircraft combined)
- Training units (trainers)
- Fallschirmjåger (paratroopers)
- Tactical transport (helicopters)
- Strategic Transport (cargo aircraft, airborne refuelling)
- Surveillance (scout aircraft, AEW&CS, command post)

Most military units including The Legion and others would usually parade in their standard dress uniform, either the German design in Summer or the Russian design in Winter, and with their standard equipment. The only exception is the honour guard of the 1st Guards Army, which do have the standard dress uniform, but would have a old-style rifle each for parade. It's not for ceremonial purposes only though, as you have seen, and they are still trained to use the rifle as a true weapon. They are issued live ammunition too, to fire into the air to maintain the atmosphere, or as a last ditch effort to protect VIPs against assassins in a parade. And all former titles such as Lancers or Hussars or cavalry have been abolished and replaced by newer terms."

[Krjder]

"How was Romberg during the Napoleonic Era?"

[Romberg]

"Well, given our remote location to the Northwest of most of the fighting and away from Europe, as well as our strong alliances with the Austrian Empire at that time, we were mostly unaffected. In fact, the Austrians established a court of exile in our nation when it was overrun by Napoleon, and returned home once the coast was clear. So you could say we were lucky in that aspect. And your nation?"

[Krjder]

"In the Thick of it. Râmunilla was attacked by Napoleon. Bengaria sent troops and we joined the war with the allies. 600,000 of our troops died in that war."

[Romberg]

"In that case, it seems that our nations have actually been more alike than we think. Even before we had formal relations like now, we had followed a very similar path all along" the Kaiser mused.

The military parade was now entering the last phase, with a march of the infantry, and followed by a demonstration of military skills. For this part, Imperial Guard units performed a live maneuver in front of them, using their close quarters combat training to simulate the storming and re-taking of a terrorist-controlled building, helping to save several hostages in the process. It was of course a success due to the training and practice received by the Rombergian military. Indeed, with the Imperial Armed Forces' main focus now of counterterrorism as well as territorial defense, it was little surprise that they could be able to pull of such an operation in the first place, and the military has indeed distinguished itself in various operations of similar size and scale, both within Romberg to smash criminal organizations and invited abroad as official government mercenaries. For the latter, it only applied to non-state combatants as enemies though, to prevent offending any state.